Alubond — SME Case Study (UAE)

Small and medium-sized firms are critical to social and economic development. Local government support for SMEs can help improve the economy of the community, especially in the face of reducing dependence on the oil market (Leigh and Blakely, 2016). This area is a real driver of the social economy by its business standards, acceptance in the dignified business sphere, and by the public. Thus, the SME environment is an important component that can help increase the commitment to equity and social economy. Changes in the cost of oil markets have been hampering the Sultanate of Oman or any oil-producing country around (Leggreens and Momani, 2011). With the development of the SME environment, the social economy is expanded to ensure that it reduces opportunities at all levels of the social economy, in this way the prosperity level increases.

Chris Jones Alubond As such, SMEs should have the option to fight against the established organizations to withstand market- competed industry, for the development of SME quality becomes an important part. The firms need to ensure that the management of quality and sale are meeting all the requirements to compete with other brands. To support the SME, the local government is expanding its hands to help in difficult situations (Ramsey et al., 2007). SMEs are making economic progress as these organizations are directly concerned with individual work over machinery. Market design can be strongly influenced in SME development areas. It should be noted that many SMEs work seriously. Although they do not employ a few representatives, they ask for staff at a higher level compared to the various computer-focused areas for their work.

Background Alubond is an aluminum manufacturing company in the United Arab Emirates. It is a spin-off of the big aluminium manufacturer based in the United States. Over the past years, the growth of the United Arab Emirates in terms of infrastructure and real estate demands a growth of supply for various materials. Aluminium manufacturing is one of the areas that are asking for growth. Alubond is a company that aims to answer the needs of the growing market.

The Alubond Company has been working with several infrastructure and real estate companies to make sure it meets the needs of customers with high quality results.

The main thrust of Alubond is to keep the reputation of the company in a positive light, generating further interest and new customers in the process. With its plan of expansion to more markets in the region, Alubond wants to build a strong market base that can support those plans.

The mission statement of Alubond is to develop better and more affordable aluminium products meeting the needs of each customer through collaboration and cooperation in the development of products. Alubond aims to become the leader in aluminium manufacturing and installation in the United Arab Emirates. Innovation is an important part of the company’s mission as it moves forward with the changes of the market.

Vision The vision of Alubond is to become one of the most trusted aluminium product manufacturers and installers in the United Arab Emirates. Through innovation, Alubond UAE will be able to meet the needs and preferences of the market as an addition to the company’s trustworthiness.

Organizational Structure

The organizational structure below shows the flow of authority and decision making with Alubond.

President/ Owner Manufacturing Unit Production Officer Quality Assurance Assistant/ Secretary Marketing Unit General Manager Sales Agents Human Resources Recruitment Training and Development Finance and Accounting Figure 25: Organizational Chart for Alubond The president, Adnan Mulk, heads the overall operation of Alubond UAE. There are four functional units that report to the general manager. The manufacturing unit is responsible for the production of aluminium products.

On the other hand, the marketing unit is focused on bringing to customers what Alubond can provide. The human resources unit is responsible for getting the best people for the company as well in aligning the workforce with organizational objectives. Lastly, the finance and accounting unit handles the financial aspect of the company including payroll, cashier, and strategies on cost leadership, among others.

Leadership Team The leadership of Alubond is under Adnan Mulk. Mulk owns Mulk Holdings, which had an exclusive deal with Alubond USA to distribute Alubond products in the United Arab Emirates. The founder of the company understands the expansion of the United Arab Emirates and he wants to make sure that it meets the needs of the future. It is critical to note that Alubond is growing and the leadership team is assertive and innovative to capture that growth. Mulk has a good team that works on manufacturing, human resources, and accounting.

Mulk was engaged in the development of aluminium products in the United States. With his exposure and experience, he wants to abreast the overall aluminium manufacturing industry of the United Arab Emirates. On the other hand, the general manager, Mohammed Karim, is a graduate of business management in the United Arab Emirates. He was able to work with other firms in the construction sector. The experience helps him to become effective in the aluminium market as well as in creating networks to grow the market of Alubond.

s Alubond United Arab Emirates has the following products in the chart below. The R&D team of the firm is dedicated to involvement consistently in the innovative product development with an aim to get resistance in high fire line and UAE Fire Code Standards. The fire rated panels of Albound have passed all the new requirements of the new UAE Fire code. It includes a full assembly test, core burning test, and panel burning test. The outcome of this makes the Alubond as the most developed and the largest fire rated range of architectural products, which is engaged to give the architects a choice and flexibility in designs. Below is a product description chart (Figure 26).

Name Description Fire Rated Metal Composites

STANDARD WIDTH

1250mm

AVAILABLE WIDTH

1000mm, 1250mm, 1500mm

STANDARD LENGTH

3200mm, 4000mm

AVAILABLE LENGTH

Custom order up to 11000mm

AVAILABLE THICKNESS

3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm AVAILABLE SKIN THICKNES: 0.3mm - 0.5mm Non Fire Rated Panels Panel Dimension Available Widths: 1000mm, 1500mm, 1550mm Standard Length: 2500mm Available Lengths: Any length up to 5800mm Available Thickness: 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm Stainless Steel Composite Panels Widths: 980mm, 1200mm Lengths: Any length up to 6000mm Skin Thickness: 0.3 mm and 0.4mm

Alubond is a company that is focused on its strategy.

There are only basic business strategies that are used by the company. First, it will always be about quality.

For Alubond, quality management is a business strategy that adds value to its model. The business, in particular,

complies with four management system standards

a. quality management system; b. environmental management system; c. occupational health and safety management system, and d. information security management system. Employing quality measures can translate into a variety of benefits for the company.

Examples are improved customer relations, reduced cost recalls and litigation arising from quality incidents, enhanced consistency of quality standards across the organization, visible dashboard of enterprise, wide quality compliance, and enhanced brand reputation.

Second, the business strategy is about cost leadership.

The goal of business-level strategy is two-way, customer satisfaction and positive operating margin. While differentiation is pursued by the business to meet client needs, cost leadership is a critical part of its business model. Differentiation is characterized by consistent product availability, high facility reliability, brand image management, and wide options for payment methods.

For instance, Alubond collaborates with customers on the details of products to avoid wasting resources that may not be meeting the specifications of customers.

The operational plan is noted below in Figure 27 Order is made; phone calls, SMS, or even chats Delivery of the order with the same area Payment is made.

Order confirmation from the warehouse Preparation of the order Figure 27: Operational Plan It is an essential term for Albound to focus on how the business is making a difference and how its products are purchased by customers. To get this, the firm is using multiple channels for the products ordering and as soon as the orders are confirmed. They are then prepared and delivered to the customer’s house. Delivery is designed in a way to reduce per unit cost of delivery.

Alubond has followed three simple marketing strategies or approaches over the past years. These marketing strategies guided the company in achieving its

organizational objectives

¡ Do not be afraid to customize and personalize.

Alubond is a company that listens and collaborates.

The marketing strategy is anchored on this strength of the company. Construction companies and institutional clients choose Alubond because of its willingness to discuss the project and how it should proceed.

¡ Be willing to keep up with the market. Alubond is a company of innovation. The marketing strategy is focused on what products are continually improving and innovating. For Alubond, the market is changing fast and it needs to adjust.

¡ Diversify based on customers’ needs and preferences. Aside from being personal with customers, Alubond is constantly looking at unserved market needs. With this, the marketing strategy is focused on diversifying what the company sells.

Review & Revise Understanding Customer Analysing SWOT Market Competition Marketing Network Planning Marketing Design & Execution Marketing Strategy Process Figure 28: Marketing strategies of Alubond

• A marketing aspect is primarily concerned with

the creation of plans and strategies to penetrate the growing market. It attracts the attention of prospective customers to patronize the services offered by the business. Effective and efficient marketing strategies should be implemented to generate customer loyalty upon going beyond customer satisfaction.

• A technical aspect is essential that determines the

viability of the business. The management should constantly ensure the quality of the services to meet the level of expectations of the clients. It is considered to create more clients and will remain loyal to the company.

• A management aspect deals with the proper and

right employees who are fit for the position being hired. Employees should be proficient enough in the kind of job through the adequate training and product knowledge provided by the management.

The management should also give right and just compensation for the employees and treat the employees like the client to generate employee loyalty.

How to Overcome These Challenges In overcoming the challenges listed above, it is necessary

to do the following things

Marketing- Develop partnership with government agencies and companies. Through negotiation with companies and government agencies in the UAE, Alubond will be able to close partnerships that could last years. As much as the business also targets small and medium businesses, social media will be used to develop a community. The virtual community is the primary advertising platform of the business. Through word-of-mouth and referrals, the company is expected to increase its engagement as well as the availability of the virtual community. The good thing about social media is the business will be able to grow its customers from the SME sector of the country. Aside from direct partnership with businesses, the company will also be working with retailers/dealers in various cities in the UAE.

Technical- A technical aspect plays a fundamental role in establishing a business since it can greatly affect the entire operations. The machineries and other equipment should be considered to avoid malfunction of operation and discontinuity. It also regulates the utilities and supply to be acquired at the layout of the project. It is also critical for Alubond to work with the company in the United States to ensure that the technical aspect of the operation is working properly. The company needs to innovate and improve the efficiency of its production line. It demands new methodologies and approaches on how to manufacture the product with a high level of result. Over the past years, the owner said that there are technical problems they encountered in the process. These technical issues are creating negative consequences on the ability of the company to produce quality aluminium products.

Management- One of the major things to consider in establishing the proposed business is the management aspect. Disclose everything as to how the business operated, was executed and implemented. By properly analyzing the plans, down from the smallest details of the business to obtain the main objective of the study. Represent the obligation of the management in all aspects of planning and preparations of the tasks for the organization would be in place. Effective recruiting of applicants for the success of the organization is a must. It should take part in every important thing involved in the business. The proficiency of the people in the organization definitely mirrors the achievement and the accomplishment of the business.

The following are the best practices being followed by Alubond on its desire to achieve higher value

performance and organizational objectives

¡ Increase the level of engagement and collaboration.

One of the major best practices being followed by Alubond is to communicate with everyone consistently and constantly within the organization.

It is very important for the business to make the most out of the information and experiences that employees got with the organization. With the help of collaboration, the company wants to tell employees that they are valuable and that they have a critical role in shaping the future of the business.

¡ Develop a feedback and quality assurance system.

With the quest of making Alubond a quality company, a feedback system was developed.

Customers and clients can message the business regarding the quality of products that they do have. From time to time, the feedback of the customer base gives the organization information or knowledge on how it’s going to meet the challenges of the future. Additionally, the quality assurance system is an approach used in evaluating whatever comes out of the production unit. There are benchmarks being followed for the quality assurance of the business. With the help of the quality assurance, it is easier for Alubond to follow through when things are going wrong.

However, there are also major issues that must be sorted out with the way the business has done things in the past. The following are failed practices that need to be

corrected or replaced with a more viable one

¡ Allowing the production unit to veer away from the standard. Without codifying the rules and procedures inside the production line, there are instances wherein the unit just gets through things on its own. As a result, the quality of the products is also affected. The non codification of rules and procedures is due to the lack of attention being given by the management. The management does not provide clear rules on how the production must go. To improve the situation, codified rules on the production must be provided. The codification allows everyone to follow the procedure without veering away from them, for whatever reason there is.

¡ Following up customers quickly. Another bad practice of Alubond is calling past customers immediately. It is not a good practice to call customers immediately after the installation or delivery of the product. The company should allow the customer to use the product and evaluate whether it is meeting the specifications they asked for. It is also a bad practice to ask customers for repeat orders in just a span of one month. The company needs to build a strong market base, but it should make the business pay for it the right way.

It is always necessary to build a community with respect and consideration.

Highlights of Business Growth The following are the highlights of the business growth over the years. These are milestones that shape the way the business responds to situations at the moment.

These are also highlights that set the business different from all rivals in the United Arab Emirates.

¡ Collaboration with a reputable company- Mulk collaborated with a reputable manufacturer in the United States. As a result, the company is already carrying the reputation of the brand. It gives the company a good sense of starting point to capture what the market wants. It must be understood that the most important aspect of the business is creating a good reputation. Otherwise, the entire brand just fails to generate income.

¡ Partnership- There are several infrastructure projects in the United Arab Emirates, but the question is how the business is going to get these market customers. To do this, it is necessary to have a partnership with various organizations and associations in the country. It will help build a connection that can lead to new customers. The good thing about this is a customer may lead to another customer. In essence, a highlight of the business is about creating word-of-mouth that transforms the business into a popular one. It will help to make sure that it is making the best out of the community.

Supported by pre-requisites information that determines the feasibility of the study, the researchers recommend the following for an effective and efficient implementation

of the business

• Excellent customer service and constant offering of

service quality The management should meet the level of expectation that could exceed customer satisfaction through offering quality service. The management should also practice continuous improvement and innovation that grows the business in long-term continuity.

• Take feedbacks and suggestion system

There must be an open communication to the public to observe things that are needed. Effective communication makes every business last and it is one way of penetrating the growing market.

• Effective and efficient marketing plans and strategies

The management should blend to the changing demands of the lenders having the effectiveness and the efficiencies of the marketing plan and strategies should be greatly considered.

• Ensure profitability and long-term continuity

The business will consider the long-term existence of the business, especially in surviving the fierce competition in the business world. There must be adequate plans and strategic planning in order to continually improve the management and system of the business.

The following are lessons that I learned from my interview

with Mulk

¡ Timing-In business, one has to wait for the right timing. There are several opportunities in the market, but one has to wait for the right timing.

Mulk could have worked on several other business opportunities but he waited for the growth of infrastructure in the country to enter the market.

¡ Innovation- The most important aspect of Mulk’s business is innovation. While there were failures in the past, it was willing to work and innovate. Innovation is essential in developing new improvements on whatever the business has. The business does not stop with what it has at the moment – it is critical to improve.

¡ Failure and success- In business, there are failures that could discourage an entrepreneur, but one has to be determined. It is a necessary ingredient for the business to thrive. One must be willing to work out and continue building toward success.

The business has the assurance of greater profitability as the financial aspects and the demand of loan products was evaluated accordingly and the business generates income to the greater economy. The economy of business relied on its strategies and organization structures.

The structures suited for organization are the building blocks for its success. It is necessary to choose wisely and revise those processes which are a hurdle in the organization’s success. There are challenges that could undermine the success of the company in the future. But with the right mix of business strategies, the business will be able to transform itself into a massive regional one. The strategies include how to grow business with fewer products, and with few stakeholders, how to make employees satisfied with their job roles, and what the company needs to do when it faces down time. It is necessary to rectify mistakes and work on new ideas that could shape the way the market behaves and responds.

As there are many competitors in the market and to grow amidst the competition environment, it is essential to hire experienced managers and heads that could lead the way for the success of the business.